Of the known devices for preparing beverages in the above manner, there are known the rigid devices made of metal or rigid heat-proof plastic comprising a rigid container attached to a rigid handle. The container is filled with the required amount of tea leaves prior to use and its content is disposed of thereafter. Such devices require cleaning and washing of the container after use, and therefore, their appeal to the user is limited.
Contrary to the abovementioned rigid, non-disposable devices, there are also known disposable devices mad e of porous liquid permeable bags, in particular paper bags, containing the beverage extract, or the tea leaves, and having handling means. Such handling means are designed to allow the insertion of the bag into the water in the cup, and then, after sufficient steeping has been achieved, withdrawal thereof, without the need to touch the wet bag or to utilize any additional device such as a tea spoon. Such handling means are usually made , of flimsy, flexible material, such as a cotton or a plastic string, aluminum foil or thin plastic band, and while the tea bag floats in the liquid they are supposed to hang over the rim of the cup. However, it is found in practice, that these known handling means do not meet the requirements set up by their design, and most often slide into the liquid, and thereafter are only removable with some difficulty and with accompanying mess. Furthermore, the sliding of the handling means, which were in contact with the hands of the user, can contaminate the beverage and incure non hygienic aspect to the use of such known means.
In order to overcome some of the problems created by the handling means as outlined above, it was suggested to use liquid permeable bags provided with rigid handles. Israel Pat. No. 34607 discloses a beverage bag provided with a rigid bar secured to the bag and to which is integrally formed a rigid handle which projects out of the bag. Such device overcomes the inadequacy of mess created by the sliding into the cup of the known flexible handling means. However, it creates other problems stemming from the fact that when the beverage bag is placed in the cup, the bag rests on the bottom of the cup and does not float in the liquid, thereby decreasing the infusion and increasing the chance of damage to the delicate bag due to frictional forces between the cup and the bag, a damage which can result in the spill of the tea leaves into the cup.
Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a device which overcomes the above mentioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the infusion art.